Current iron and steel making processes in integrated steel plants use a blast furnace to produce molten iron and a separate basic oxygen furnace to convert the molten iron into steel. The modern blast furnace is a huge facility whose construction requires very high capital investment. For example, a furnace capable of producing 5,000 tons of iron a day would require an investment of more than $200 million. The blast furnace uses coke as fuel, reductant, and most importantly to support the moving bed to allow the passage of exhaust gas without causing excessive pressure drop.
The coke oven represents another large investment and also involves substantial environmental problems. A battery of coke ovens, capable of producing 3,000 tons of coke a day, require an investment of about $200 million.
The extent of iron ore preparation required by the blast furnace also contributes to the high cost of the process. A sinter plant capable of producing 5,000 tons of iron a day would require an investment of about $100 million.
The huge investment costs of the conventional blast furnace, the coke ovens and the sinter plant, as well as the environmental problems associated with the coke ovens and the sinter plants have prevented the building of new blast furnaces. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a method and apparatus for producing iron, steel or semi-steel which eliminates high capital investment and operating costs and is energy efficient and environmentally safe.